Channel 4 announces Living With The Amish

12 April 2011

Hamish Mykura, Head of Documentaries

The notoriously private Amish community is to open its doors to a group of British teenagers in a new commission, Living with the Amish

Channel 4 will follow eight British teenagers leaving their mobile phones, Facebook accounts and partying behind, as they head to Ohio to see if they can hack six weeks of hard work and simple living.

The British teens, from a range of backgrounds and with a range of typical teenage issues to work through, must first build their own barn, in order that they can move in with the local Amish community.  They will swap their iPhones for hymn books.  Out will go their modern clothing, in favour of faded dungarees and conservative Amish hats.  And their Xboxes and PlayStations will be replaced by traditional pastimes such as blanket-stitching and making wooden toys.

The experience will be radical departure from the way teens live their lives in contemporary Britain, and will require a readjustment to a world of gas lamps, horses and carts, manual labour and daily communal hymn-singing.  Will the experience help them find God?  Or, just as importantly, discover who they really are as individuals?

No Amish community has ever before offered to carry out an ‘Amish detox' such as this.  The Amish families who are taking part in the programme hope that it will reveal the advantages of a pure, uncluttered way of life.  

Hamish Mykura, Head of Documentaries, said: ‘We're delighted to be building on the success of last year's popular series, Amish: World's Squarest Teenagers. This unique cultural exchange will show the impact of a more back-to-basics life will have on today's British teens. We'll also be able to see inside the usually private Amish community.' 

Andrew Palmer, Creative Director, Keo Films, said:  ‘We are hugely excited by the access gained to this notoriously reclusive community. It will be the first cultural exchange of its kind and promises both entertaining and insightful provocative television.'